


Kiss Collectors

by RandyKorn



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Alive Noah, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi, POV Henry, and then they kiss each other, everyone kisses henry too, everyone kisses noah, gratuitous fluff, pynch - Freeform, sarchengsey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-08
Updated: 2017-02-08
Packaged: 2018-09-22 19:26:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9622163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RandyKorn/pseuds/RandyKorn
Summary: Henry and Noah compete to see who can get everyone in the group to kiss them first.  The loser has to kiss the winner, but is that really losing?  Henry certainly doesn't think so.





	

**Author's Note:**

> The story contains some slight cursing because a) they're teenagers and b) Ronan has dialogue. There are also vague mentions of past deadness and depression, as well as some light (possibly underaged) drinking. Other than that it's almost pure fluff, so enjoy :D
> 
> Based on a post by gaybluesargent on tumblr!

“So,” Noah asked, breaking the tense silence that had fallen between them.  “How many of the others have you kissed?”

Henry frowned in concentration, unsure if Noah was being genuinely curious or if this was some evil attempt at distracting him.  He’d  _ claimed _ to have never played Mario Kart before, but the guy was either lying through his teeth or he was a natural.  Henry was using every trick in the book and barely managing to maintain his half-second lead.

They were seated on the living room floor of Litchfield, despite the fact that there was a perfectly good couch only a few feet behind them.  Henry’s butt was already sore, but moving felt like admitting defeat.  He didn’t know what, exactly, he was proving, but he’d be damned if he didn’t prove it.

He dodged a green shell while he tried to answer Noah’s question in his head, the words taking longer to materialize than usual.  Multitasking was  _ hard. _  “Blue and Gansey.  You?”

“Blue.”

“Wait, just Blue?”  Honestly, seeing as Noah had been a part of the group from the beginning, he would have expected more kisses.  From the outside, it had seemed like they were all at least a little in love with each other.  Now that he was actually  _ in _ the group, it was obvious that that was true.

Noah only shrugged, throwing out a banana peel that Henry only barely managed to avoid.  “I’ve kissed other people.  Whelk once, when we were drunk.  I had a few girlfriends, too.” 

“I feel like Blue’s kisses top those.”

“Oh, definitely.  She was very…soft.  Warm.”  Henry could almost hear the unspoken word.   _ Alive. _  But if Noah wasn’t going to allude to his past deadness, then Henry wasn’t either.

“Yeah, she’s a kissing machine now that she won’t, y’know, kill anyone.”  Again.

“That did put a damper on things,” Noah said.

They lapsed into silence as the music picked up its pace, both boys concentrating fully on the final lap.  Henry’s heart beat in tandem with the music, and he leaned forward eagerly as the finish line came ever closer.  He had a two second lead over Noah with only two turns to go.  He was going to-

An ominous beeping sounded, and Henry groaned.  That sound struck fear into his heart like no other.  A blue shell was coming for him.  Noah cackled beside him as Henry cursed under his breath, racing for the finish line but knowing it was useless.

He was going to lose.

The blue shell slammed into him and he was powerless to stop Noah’s Toad from shooting past him, the victory music sounding a second later.  Henry sighed as he crossed the finish line, well ahead of the NPCs but still lagging behind Noah.  “Good game, man.”

Noah grinned, giving him a high-five before Henry flopped backward onto the floor.  “Why did you want to know who I had kissed?” he asked, peering up at Noah.  He hadn’t known the boy when he’d been dead, but it wasn’t hard for him to imagine what he’d looked like based on what he saw now.  Pale skin, too-thin frame, eyes that seemed to focus on something beyond the physical plane.  Noah still didn’t seem to be entirely  _ here _ , but the others said that this Noah was a far cry from the ghost they’d known.

Noah shrugged.  “Curious.”

Henry’s eyes darted to the small frown on Noah’s face, the way his hands shook slightly as they gripped the controller.  There was something deeper here, something that Henry had noticed picking at Noah for a while now.  He understood what it was like to want something so desperately, yet to be terrified of reaching for it.  Henry had felt the same, watching Gansey’s court form without him, watching their journey from the outside.

Henry had wanted to belong.

Noah wanted kisses.  Affection.  Love and happiness and  _ life. _

But not from Henry.  Or not  _ just _ from Henry, anyway.  From everyone.

Noah wanted to be a part of the group.  Not that he wasn’t, but he was definitely treated differently.  Everyone was more careful with Noah, afraid that he’d fracture somewhere deep inside where they couldn’t reach.  He was fragile.  Even Henry thought that.  Even  _ Ronan _ thought that, although he’d never say it.

Maybe Noah thought that too.

And right there, painted in bold strokes across Noah’s face, was the desire for all of that to stop.  For the first time since he’d come back to life, Henry saw the desire to  _ live _ in Noah.  To live and endure all that life entailed - all of the rises and falls, dips and turns that came on this rollercoaster that they called existence.  Noah was opening up, yearning to accept the joy, even if it meant accepting the pain as well.

Noah wanted to live.

Noah wanted to be kissed.

He was just too afraid to see that for himself.  But Henry saw it, just as he’d seen it in Gansey, and he’d be damned if he wasn’t going to do anything about it.

“I propose a challenge!” Henry said, rocketing himself back into a sitting position.  “We compete to see who can be the first to receive a kiss from everyone in the group.”

Noah stared at him for a second, taken by surprise.  Then he put a finger to his lip, tapping it idly while he tried not to smile.  A serious challenge called for a serious expression, although both boys were failing miserably.  “And what would I get if I won?” Noah asked.

“A kiss from yours truly, of course.”

“And if  _ you _ won?”

“Then I’d get a kiss from you.”

Noah grinned, and Henry grinned back.

“Are the terms agreeable?” he asked, holding out his hand.

“Indeed they are,” Noah said, clasping hands and sealing the deal.  “May the best kiss collector win.”

 

The first two kisses were easy.

All it took was asking Blue and Gansey to meet up for some road trip planning.  They already had a very long list of places they planned to visit in the coming year, but it never hurt to add a few more.  Thankfully, they’d limited themselves to the continental US.  Otherwise, they may never  _ stop _ traveling.

Which, really, wasn’t a disagreeable future to Henry.  Traveling the world with his boyfriend and girlfriend sounded like a fantastic way to spend his life.  But Blue was dead set on attending some sort of college in the near future, and as loathe as Gansey may be to admit it, he loved academia.  Which left Henry with a single year to criss-cross the United States over and over again, visiting as many historical/magical/flat-out-odd sites as they could possibly find.

After college, they were going to experience the wonders that were his home country of Canada.  They didn’t know this yet, of course, but it was still going to happen.  

One road trip at a time, though.

Planning sessions never lasted very long before devolving into hanging sessions.  Generally, they added a few more items to the List of Wonders, debated the merits of hotels vs campsites, and argued about music privileges for about ten minutes before turning on Netflix and cuddling.  Very little planning ever seemed to get done, but no one ever complained.

Today’s session lasted no longer than usual before they were all curled up on Gansey’s bed, laptop propped up on Henry’s knees since he was currently the center of their cuddle pile.  Season two of Avatar the Last Airbender played from Henry’s personal DVD collection - he’d been  _ devastated _ when he found out no one in the group had seen the show.  It was obviously his divine duty to drag everyone into watching it at every available opportunity - even Ronan.  Although at this point no one really had to be  _ dragged _ , thank the heavens.  It was just a matter of remembering where each person was at and keeping an ever-watchful eye out for unintentional spoilers.

“So I made a bet with Noah,” Henry said as the final credits rolled.  “We’re competing to see who can collect everyone’s kisses the fastest.”

“Is that your roundabout way of asking for a kiss?” Gansey asked, shifting his weight so he could plant one right on Henry’s cheek.

“Well, no.  It was more an explanation for why I was about to ask for one.  But I appreciate your initiative.”  Henry stretched and kissed Gansey’s lips - warm, slightly chapped, lightly flavored with mint - and pulled back, grinning.  “Only three to go, now.”

He turned to Blue, eyebrow raised expectantly, but she only rolled her eyes in return.  “What if I don’t want to kiss you?”

“Since when?” he teased.  

“Since now.”

Henry shrugged.  “Then I don’t get kissed.  They must be freely given, of course.”

Blue stroked her chin, a mischievous smile lighting up her face.  “What if I make you work for it?”

Henry grinned in return, bowing as best as he could from his position on the bed.  “I am but your humble servant, my Ladyship.”

Blue’s smile kicked up a notch or two.  “Kinky.”

“Is this my cue to leave?” Gansey asked, his light chuckles vibrating through the bed.

“Nah,” Blue said, leaning back against the pillows.  “Nothing like that.  I was thinking more along the lines of stealing Henry’s nail polish at some point.  Mom’s hosting a psychic get-together and I want my nails to be extra fabulous for when I flip everyone off.  They  _ always _ try to leech off my energy.”

“Yeah, of course,” Henry said.  “You can come over anytime.  I just got some new decals that we can try out if you want.”

“Am I invited?” Gansey asked, leaning his head on Henry’s shoulder.

“Of course,” he and Blue said at once.  

“I’ll even let you pick the color,” Blue added.

Gansey grinned, pressing a sloppy kiss to the base of Henry’s neck.  “Pass that along to Blue for me?”  Henry obliged, kiss morphing into a smile as Blue giggled.

“Alright, fine.   _ Fine,” _ Blue said, laughing as she kissed Henry’s forehead.  “There’s your kiss.  Happy now?”

“Always.”

“Two to go,” Gansey said.

“And the hardest two, at that,” Blue said.  “Adam is plausible, but how’re you going to get  _ Ronan _ of all people to kiss you?”

“I was thinking of disguising myself as that bird of his.”  This startled a laugh out of both of them, and Henry felt a soft warmth flare up inside of him.  Making his datemates happy had to be one of the best feelings ever.  “Either that or bringing Opal in on the whole thing.  She’d be able to rope him into showing me some physical affection.”

“That or she’ll just eat your shoe again,” Gansey said.

“I’m confident she’s outgrown that habit.”

Blue snorted.  “Fat chance.”

“Just last week I found her chewing her way through my tie collection,” Gansey said, not sounding upset in the least.  In fact, Henry was fairly sure he detected a bit of pride in his voice.

“And Ronan let her?” he asked.

“Ronan’s the one who told her to.”

Henry groaned, covering his face with his hand.  “I’m doomed.”  Honestly, he’d known the chances of getting Ronan to kiss him were next to zero when he’d proposed the challenge.  That wasn’t going to stop him from trying though.  Ronan was  _ beautiful, _ provided he didn’t open his mouth _. _

But even if Henry failed, Noah ended up happily kissed by everyone.  And Henry still got to kiss him in the end.  So was that  _ really _ losing?

No, sir, it was not.

“Indeed,” Blue said, patting his shoulder, mock pity painted across her face.  “Will Avatar make the hardship any easier to bear?”

“Avatar makes everything easier to bear,” Henry said, eagerly motioning for Gansey to start the next episode.  “You guys will love this one, it’s great.”

“You say that about every episode,” Gansey said.

“And have I ever been wrong?”

“Nope.”

 

It wasn’t until the next day that Henry saw Noah again.  He’d been staying at the Barns with Ronan and Opal, and they all decided to drop in at Monmouth before their weekly grocery run.  It was more of an excuse than anything - they only came to Henrietta when Ronan and Opal were sorely missing Adam.  Which only seemed to happen  _ all the time. _

“Yo yo yo,” Henry said, raising his hand in greeting as Ronan clomped up the steps, Opal’s tiny frame making even more noise two steps behind.  Chainsaw cawed and flapped about the ceiling, eagerly chasing RoboBee around the entirety of Monmouth.  Between the three of them, it was easy to overlook Noah sliding up the stairs behind them, steps as silent as the ghost he used to be.

“Fuck off, Cheng,” Ronan said, putting a hand on Opal’s head to keep her from running straight to Adam.  He was sitting on the couch surrounded by books, trying to eek out a rough draft of an essay that wasn’t due for another three weeks.  Sometimes Henry envied Adam’s inhuman ability to focus, but he was also glad that he lead a life where he could afford to procrastinate.  He’d never thought to appreciate that before Adam came into his life.

“Love you too, Lynch,” Henry said, watching Adam quickly scoop up his books and stack them on the floor before motioning for Opal.  She ran into his outstretched arms, goat legs kicking eagerly at the air as they hugged.  “You two act like you haven’t seen each other in years.”

“It’s been two days!” Opal said, voice muffled as she pressed into Adam’s shoulder.  “I missed him!  Kerah’s so grouchy when he’s gone.”

“Stop calling me that,” Ronan said with absolutely no heat to his voice.  He sat down next to Gansey, watching as he carefully pieced together a finely-detailed model of St. Agnes made of newspaper and cardboard.  Henry, for his part, was lying on the floor, slowly painting the gas station a garish shade of purple just to see when Gansey would notice.  He’d been at it for two hours so far with no reaction.  Either Gansey was worryingly focused on his building or he just didn’t care about the gas station’s sudden makeover.  

“Maybe you should add some glitter,” Noah said, slipping into place beside him.

“Everything’s better with glitter,” Henry agreed, digging into the crafts box with zest.  He was paying more attention to Noah than the box, though, looking for signs of his health slipping.  It looked like he’d showered in the past few days, and he was wearing fresh clothes.  Hair brushed, face washed, a vague peppermint smell indicating that he’d even cleaned his teeth.

Subtly, Henry shot an appreciative glance at Lynch.  As much as he tried to appear like a massive asshole, Ronan took care of his friends.  Whether they wanted the help or not.

After Glendower, when Gansey had been left utterly adrift with nothing to distract himself from the fact that he’d just died and been brought back to life  _ again, _ it had been Ronan who’d stepped up first.  It had been Ronan who had pulled Gansey out of Monmouth after four days of barely functioning.  It had been Ronan who had shoved Gansey into the Fox Way house so the women could Mom him into taking a shower and eating something other than Cheetos.  It had been Ronan who had seen just how broken Gansey had become, and it had been Ronan who had made sure that everyone else saw, too.  

They’d been too distracted with everything else that had happened - the deaths, the rebirths, the revelations and realizations - to notice that Gansey was fracturing on the inside.  They’d been too busy muddling through their own experiences to see past his fake smile, his shitty excuses, his blatant lies.  But despite the chaos of those weeks, despite everything going on in his own life, Ronan had noticed Gansey.  And Ronan had made sure that  _ they _ noticed, too.  For that, Henry would forever be in his debt.

Even now, months later, he was still making sure that everyone was taking care of themselves.  Somehow he’d managed to slip into the Group Mom role without anyone noticing until it was far too late.  Granted, he was far more aggressive about the whole concept than he had any right to be, but Henry couldn’t argue with the results.

He finally located some glitter glue and spent the next fifteen minutes watching Noah draw UFOs and flowers on the gas station roof with it.  Ronan dug out a different color and drew a crudely-rendered dick on the back of Gansey’s hand, making Noah giggle so hard he snorted.  Gansey only rolled his eyes and continued building his little church.

Blue arrived minutes later, fresh from her shift at Nino’s.  And by “fresh” he meant in a raging tiff about three Aglionby boys who had stayed for over five hours, making an absolute mess of their table and being asses to the waitresses the entire time, and proceeded to leave only a $4 tip.  Henry dearly hoped he’d never done anything like that, although he had a sneaking suspicion he had.

She finally collapsed, exhausted from both her shift and her rant, onto the couch beside Opal and Adam.  The resulting silence was broken only by Chainsaw giving a screeching war cry and diving after poor RoboBee, both of them only narrowly avoiding crashing into Gansey as they tore through the loft.

“So how many kisses do you have so far?” Henry whispered to Noah.

“Oh, yeah.”

“Don’t tell me you forgot,” Henry said, holding a hand to his heart.  “You wound me.”  

He didn’t actually mind, though.  The challenge was still valid even if the other participant forgot to compete.  It would just be him receiving Noah's kiss at the end instead of the other way around.

“Not exactly,” Noah said, pulling at the frayed sleeve of his jacket.  “It’s just that farm work can be distracting.  And  _ gross. _  I tried not to think about Ronan kissing me when he was covered in cow shit.”

“Okay, I see your point.  But now you’re two behind.”

Noah grinned, a knowing glint in his eye.  “Not for long.”

Henry watched as he slid a few feet away, apparently trying to find a reasonably clear section of floor.  All it took was looking up at Adam and Blue, a perfect mixture of innocence and mischief on his face.  “Can you guys come kiss me so I can win a race against Henry?” 

“Hell yeah,” Blue said, practically sprinting over to plant several kisses on both of Noah’s cheeks.  “I thought you’d never ask.”

“Blue!  You’re supposed to be on my side!”

She took Noah’s face in her hands and turned his head so he was looking straight at Henry, smirk evident on his face.  He even  _ winked. _  “You try saying no to this face.”

Gansey looked up from his project, glue smudged on his cheek.  “Oh, are we finally kissing Noah?”

“Gansey!”

“Yup!” Blue said, laughing.  “He’s all yours.”

Gansey handed off his half-constructed church to Ronan for dubiously safe keeping before sliding over and kissing Noah’s forehead.  “Now you’re both tied.”

“You two are traitors,” Henry said, crossing his arms and pretending to pout.  Blue laughed again and came over to sit beside him, giving him a sideways hug and pushing him to the floor, careful to avoid the miniature buildings.

“How will we ever earn your forgiveness?” she asked, lying half on top of him and running her hand through his hair.

“Oh, I think we’ll be okay,” he said, wrapping his arms around her waist. 

“Get a room,” Ronan muttered, a blush forming on his cheeks.

“Fuck off, Lynch,” they both chorused.

Noah’s head swiveled between Ronan and Adam.  “So?  Anyone else want to support the worthy cause of beating Henry’s ass?”

Ronan’s face was growing pinker by the minute, but Adam merely shrugged, momentarily displacing Opal to kiss Noah’s nose and cheeks.  “I’d kiss your lips, but then Ronan would be jealous.”  Ronan coughed, trying to hide his face behind Gansey’s cardboard church.

“Any chance you’ll kiss me, too?” Henry asked, tilting his head so he could bat his eyes at Adam.  “I’m asking nicely.”

“Nope.  You’ve got to be more creative than that, Cheng.”

“Worth a try.”  He sighed theatrically, but he’d known Parrish and Lynch wouldn’t be that easy.  He didn’t have the history with them that Noah did.  Nor was he nearly as disarmingly  _ cute _ as Noah.  He was just so kissable.  Honestly, now he was just looking forward to Lynch kissing the boy so  _ Henry _ could kiss him.  He was missing out.

Everyone looked at Lynch, but he only shook his head from behind the safety of St. Agnes.  “I’m not just  _ kissing _ him.”

“Why not?” Noah asked.  “Am I not as cute as Adam?”  Noah didn’t seem to be trying to convince Ronan - he simply sounded curious.

Ronan moved the church far enough to glare at everyone.  “I’m just  _ not, _ okay?”

“Oh, you’re  _ shy _ ,” Blue said, grinning wickedly.  “Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you kiss Adam, either.”

“Fuck off, Sargent.”

“Not a chance, Lynch.”

“He has a thing against PDA,” Adam said, sitting back on the couch and putting an arm around Opal who, Henry was reluctant to note, was chewing on one of his shoes.   _ Again. _

“Oh, that’s so cute,” Blue said, cackling.  “Who knew Ronan could be  _ cute?” _

“Fuck  _ off, _ Sargent.”  To anyone outside the group, Ronan would look positively poisonous right now.  But they could all tell he was trying to use anger to cover up the fact that he was flustered to pieces.  Trying and failing.

“You’re right,” Henry said, turning to face Blue.  Her head was lying on his chest, and he quite liked the feeling of her weight on him.  “He  _ is _ cute.”

“Ain’t he just?”

Ronan let out an inarticulate growl and flopped backward onto the floor, fully covering his face with the church.

Their challenge was at an impasse.

“So what do we do now?” Noah asked.

“Now,” Henry said, pausing for dramatic effect.  “We play Truth or Dare.”

 

Truth or Dare did not happen immediately.  Ronan actually did have to go grocery shopping, dragging a reluctant Opal and Noah behind him, Adam had a short shift at Boyd’s, and Blue had to help Calla convince Gwenllian to let them clean out the attic.

It wasn’t until later that night that they reconvened at Monmouth with varying degrees of enthusiasm.  Ronan and Noah showed up sans Opal, saying only that she was with “The Witches.”  Henry assumed that meant Blue’s family.  This was confirmed when Blue arrived with new holes in her shirt that exactly matched the new holes in Henry’s shoe.  Adam was the last to arrive, looking tired from work but determined to enjoy himself despite that fact.

Gansey and Henry had taken the time to stock up on alcohol and snacks, and he passed both around liberally while they all settled in a vague circle within mini-Henrietta.  Gansey ended up near the gas station, and he poked at it curiously.  “How long had this thing been so…colorful?”

“Oh, ages,” Blue said.  “Days.  Weeks.  Months, maybe.”

“Your work?” he asked Noah.

“With help from Henry.”

Gansey grinned, turning the gas station over in his hands so he could see Noah’s doodles more clearly.  “It’s beautiful.  Thank you.”  He placed it carefully back in its place, handling it as though it were some sort of precious thing instead of a little joke.  Henry felt warmth spread through his body, knowing that he was dating someone so thoughtfully adorable, someone who would treasure a defaced model gas station.

Gansey was such a  _ nerd. _

He was Henry’s nerd, though.  And Blue’s, of course.

“So how’s this thing work?” Adam asked, hesitantly taking a beer that Ronan slid to him.  Ronan, Henry noticed, only took a bottle of soda for himself.

“You’ve never played Truth or Dare?” Henry asked.  

Adam shrugged.  “In middle school.”

“Same rules apply.  You want to start?”

He shrugged again.  “Sure.  Gansey, Truth or Dare?”

“Truth.”

“Laaaaame,” Blue stage-whispered, giving him a thumbs-down.  Gansey stuck his tongue out at her in response.

“Since tonight is probably going to turn toward kissing at some point,” Adam said glancing at Henry and Noah.  “Who was your first kiss?”

“A girl named Natasha who came to one of Mother’s functions when I was…seven?  Maybe eight.  She was quite forceful, as I remember.  Stepped on my toes quite a bit when we danced, too.”  He curled them up in phantom pain, and Blue rolled her eyes.  “Blue, Truth or Dare?”

“Dare, definitely.”

Gansey frowned thoughtfully for a few seconds, rubbing his lip with his thumb.  “Chug some beer?”

“Laaaaame,” she repeated, taking her can and gulping it down in seconds, letting out a decidedly unfeminine belch at the end.

“Bravo,” Henry said, clapping.  Even Ronan looked impressed.

“Henry, Truth or Dare?”

“Dare, please.”

Blue nodded.  “I dare you to tweet something using only your elbows.”

“Cruel and unusual punishment,” he declared, whipping out his phone and doing his level best to type “my wonderful girlfriend made me tweet this.”  It came out looking like pure jibberish, but he watched the likes and retweets trickle in regardless.  “People seem to like it.  Adam!  Truth or Dare?”

He sighed.  “Let’s get this over with.  Dare.”

“Kiss me!”

Adam rolled his eyes as he moved closer.  “Anywhere in particular?”

“Your choice.”  He closed his eyes, wanting to be surprised.  Adam’s long fingers cupped his chin, gently tilting it upward.  For a brief second he thought Adam was going to kiss him on the mouth, but then Adam’s lips brushed against his forehead.  They were light and soft, reminding him of butterfly wings as they trailed down his temple and stopped at his eyelid.

“Was that good?”

“Wonderful,” he said, breath catching in his chest.  Maybe he should ask about making their little threesom into a foursome.  Or a sixsome.  Those were thoughts for another time, though.  Right now, the game was afoot.

”Three to three,” Gansey said.  “Looks like Ronan’s the deciding vote.”  Everyone turned to stare at him, but he only flipped them off.

Adam returned to his spot, taking a moment to gaze around the haphazard circle.  “Alright, so…Noah.  Truth or Dare?”

“Dare!”

“Stick one of Ronan’s socks in your mouth.”

Noah wrinkled his nose in disgust, but he stuck his hand out anyway, dedicated to his choice.  Ronan, however, crossed his arms and leaned back.  “What if I don’t want his mouth on my sock?”

“Tough,” Adam said.

“This is gross,” Ronan said, sounding almost impressed as he peeled off his sock and placed it in Noah’s waiting hand.  “You’re both gross.”

Adam elbowed him lightly and Ronan grabbed his hand, cupping it in both of his.  Already the tips of his ears were growing pink, and Henry had to hold back a grin.  How utterly  _ adorable. _

They all watched Noah stare at the sock, nose still tightly wrinkled.  Then he sprung into action, stuffing it into his mouth as fast as possible, giving himself no time to second guess his actions.  Admirably, he held it there for a full three seconds before spitting it out and coughing, wiping his tongue on his sleeve.

_ “Nasty.” _  Like Ronan, he sounded almost impressed.  “I better not get some kind of weird fungus from that.”

“My feet are clean.”

“The aftertaste in my mouth says otherwise.  You want this back?” Noah asked, holding up the damp sock between two fingers.

“You can keep it.”

“Cool.  So, Ronan.  Truth or Dare?”

“Truth.”

“Laaaaame,” Blue called from where she was cuddled up against Gansey.  “Fuck off, Sargent,” she said, doing a terrible, slurred impression of Ronan.  “Yeah, yeah, I know.”

Ronan only rolled his eyes.  

Noah cupped his head in his hand, tapping his fingers against his cheek.  “So who would you  _ rather _ kiss?” he asked.  “Me or Henry?”

“Adam.”

“Adam wasn’t an option.”

“Too bad, it’s the truth.”  Now it was Noah’s turn to roll his eyes.  “Sargent, Truth or Dare?”

She narrowed her eyes.  “Do your worst.”

“Do a handstand.”

“God, you’re all so lame,” she muttered, placing her hands on the ground and trying to kick herself into the air.  Gansey frantically pulled her into more open ground after she almost squashed his newly-erected church.

“And you’re a lightweight,” Ronan laughed, watching as she continually tried and failed to lift her legs in the air.  She would get halfway up before losing her balance and rolling to the ground, grumbling the whole time about how she was perfectly sober.  Henry subtly pulled out his phone and started recording the spectacle, heckling Gansey when he finally decided to take pity on her and grabbed her legs, lifting them in the air for her.

“See?” she yelled.  “I told you I could do it.”

She promptly toppled sideways, bringing Gansey down with her.  Laughing, he pulled her into his lap as he sat up.  “I think it’s safer if we just stay over here.”

“Liar,” she muttered, planting a sloppy kiss on his cheek while throwing her arms around his neck.  “I’m perfectly safe.”

“Safe as life,” he agreed, kissing her back.

“Adam!” Blue said.  “Truth or Dare?”

“Dare.”

“I dare you to come cuddle with us!”

“Should I be jealous?” Henry asked as Adam quickly went over to lean against Gansey, taking Blue’s legs into his lap.

“Only if you’re not going to join us,” Blue said.

Henry was tempted for sure, but at the moment his challenge with Noah was more pressing.  He wanted to win this thing so he could kiss the boy and bring some happiness to his newly re-discovered life.  Or lose and achieve the same result.  Maybe they’d join the cuddle pile after all this was settled.

“Ronan?” Adam asked.

“Truth.”

“Are you just picking truth to avoid kissing those two?”

“Yes.”

Adam snorted.  “Good luck to you, then.  I have a feeling you’re going to need it.”

Noah and Henry grinned at each other before turning as one to Ronan, but he looked decidedly unimpressed.  “I can handle them.”  Adam only hummed noncommittally in the background.  “Cheng.”

“Dare!”

“Take a selfie of your finger up your nose and post it to your Instagram.”

“Rude,” he said, once again sliding his phone out of his pocket.  “How come all my dares take advantage of my internet presence?”

“Better than sticking a sock in your mouth,” Noah said.

“You have a point, my ghostly friend.”  He unceremoniously jammed his finger into his nose and snapped a very unflattering selfie, posting it with a sigh.  “There, done.  Ronan, your turn!”

“Truth.”

“Oh come  _ on, _ ” Henry groaned.  “Are you ever going to pick Dare?”

“Nope.  Czerny, your turn.”

“Wait, that wasn’t my question!” Henry said.

“Too bad.  Czerny.”

“Dare, please.”  Henry sighed as he watched Noah gulp down three spoonfuls of hot sauce, knowing that this was quickly turning into a Very Boring Circle.  He had to find some way of getting Ronan to kiss one of them, or their whole challenge was at a standstill.  Again.

That meant that he wouldn’t get to kiss Noah.  Or Noah wouldn’t get to kiss him.   _ Unacceptable. _

When it was his turn to ask Lynch another question, he gave him a sweet smile.  “You know you’re beautiful, right, Ronan?”  He made sure his voice sounded genuine, knowing it would be too easy for Lynch to brush his words off as a joke.  It helped that he  _ was _ being truthful - he was probably the most attractive one in the group, judging by arbitrary societal values.  But beyond that… “You’ve got a beautiful soul.”  It was corny, but it was  _ true, _ and Ronan knew it.

Ronan turned about seven different shades of red, but he still managed to choke out a soft “Fuck off, Cheng.”

“Oh, gladly, Lynch,” he replied, raising an eyebrow as his sweet smile turned into a suggestive one.  “So long as you join me.”

Noah grinned beside him, obviously catching on to Henry’s plan.  “You  _ are _ really great, Ronan.  It’s a shame Adam’s the only one you kiss.”

“More than just great, though,” Henry said.  “Brave and kind and a great singer, to boot.”

“He’s a good artist, too,” Noah said.  “You should see the sketchbook he hides under his mattress.”

“You can’t flatter me into kissing you,” Ronan muttered, his head buried in his arms.  The only part of his face that Henry could see were his burning ears.

“We can try,” Noah said, shooting a smile Henry’s way.

“Maybe I can whine him into submission,” Henry said, moving to drape himself across Ronan’s back.   _ “Please _ kiss us, Ronan.  We’re dying here.  We’re  _ begging.” _

“I might turn back into a ghost if I don’t receive enough kisses.  The ley line said so just this morning,” Noah said, poking at Ronan’s shoulder.

“Adam won’t even be jealous, will you Adam?”  He only raised an idle hand from where he was cuddling with Blue and Gansey on the bed, making a reply that was too muffled to distinguish.  When had they relocated from the floor?  Whatever.  Maybe his vague ideations of expanding their threesome were already in motion, even without his influence.  “See?  He’s fine with it.”

“Come on,” Noah whined.  “Pretty please with a cherry on top?”

“We’d love you forever and ever,” Henry added, his voice just as sickly sweet as Noah’s.

“To the moon and back.”

“To the  _ sun. _ ”

“To  _ Pluto!” _

“I don’t think Pluto’s a planet anymore, Noah.”

“It’s not?  Damn.”

“We can keep this up all night, though,” Henry said, gently nudging Ronan. 

“All week,” Noah said, nudging Ronan’s other side.

“All month.”

“All  _ year.” _

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Ronan groaned, uncoiling and grabbing both of their hands.  “Do you two ever shut up?”

“Not if being annoying little shits gets us kisses,” Henry said, trying not to get distracted by how soft Ronan’s hands were.  Wasn’t farm work supposed to give you calluses?  Maybe he’d dreamed up some kind of special lotion.

_ “Fine,” _ Ronan growled, pulling their hands closer so that their fingers wove together.  Slowly, he brought them up to his lips, a feather-light kiss brushing against the back of Noah and Henry’s thumbs.  “There.  Kissed.  I hope you’re fucking happy now.”

Noah grinned, throwing himself on top of Ronan and hugging him fiercely.  “Thank you!” he said, kissing Ronan’s cheek.  “You’re the best.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Ronan grumbled.  But he hugged Noah back.  Henry smiled, waiting a full second before piling himself in on the hug.  “Fuck  _ off, _ Cheng.”

“Never ever.”

Ronan made a grunting noise before they toppled to the floor, narrowly avoiding hitting any of Gansey’s buildings.  “Heavy,” he complained.

“But you love us,” Noah said, kissing Ronan’s cheek again.

“Yeah, whatever,” he repeated.

“Is the challenge over?” Gansey called from the bed.

“We tied,” Henry said, sitting up from the hug pile.  “We didn’t really prepare for a tie.”

“I think it just means we should kiss each other,” Noah said, sitting up and snagging Henry’s hand.  “That was kind of the whole point of this.”

“Oh,” he said, sounding a little breathless to his own ears.  “Good idea.”  He repositioned his hand so that their fingers were intertwined again, pulling Noah closer.  Noah’s eyes were wide and sparkling, his flushed cheeks making the light freckles on his face visible for once.  Everything about Noah reminded Henry of the night sky he saw when they went hiking - full of beauty just waiting to be discovered by those who bothered to look.

How had he possibly thought Noah looked dead earlier?  He was so obviously  _ alive _ that it almost hurt.  Henry didn’t know what had changed.  Maybe it was the kisses, maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe it was something as simple as being around his friends.  Maybe it was just that Noah had finally decided to accept life once again.

Everything that Noah had done for them - everything that Noah  _ was _ \- hit him at once.  In all the words that Henry knew, there was only one that seemed to fit him.

They leaned forward until their foreheads touched.  “You are a miracle, Noah Czerny.”

“You’re pretty cool too.”

Henry laughed, pressing their lips together.  He tasted like warm beer and snow and sunshine, all mixed together into something that Henry could only describe as  _ Happy. _  It wasn’t one of the magical kisses that he read about in stories, full of fire and passion and destiny.  It wasn’t a kiss that righted past wrongs or saved the world.

But it was a kiss from Noah, and that made it perfect nonetheless.


End file.
